Do teacher resource centres (TRCs) help to improve learning in schools? Do they result in better quality teaching and learning in the classroom? Between 1997 and 1998 University of Leeds School of Education researchers made an assessment of the effectiveness of TRCs for the Department for International Development as part of a strategy to improve the quality of education in schools in developing countries. Despite the variety of approaches used and services provided, the resource centres appear to make very little contribution to improved teaching and learning in schools. Can they be more effective given a new role?

Teachers’ centres began in Britain in the 1960s to support professional development for teachers and providing access to a range of educational resources and in-service training. A decade later, the model was promoted in many developing countries. Yet, until now, TRCs had never been comprehensively assessed either in Britain or abroad. Using literature reviews and case studies in India, Kenya, Zambia and Nepal and interviews and observations, it became clear that to be effective, TRCs need to move away from being training and advisory centres for teachers to acting primarily as resource providers for children.

Findings indicate that, although most teachers enjoy participating in TRC activities and like the idea of having a TRC in their community, TRCs are problematic because they:

• are too isolated from schools so that skills and activities learnt on courses are not translated into action with pupils
• send out teaching and learning materials to schools but don't follow them up with adequate training opportunities
• suffer from a low uptake of new ideas following in-service training sessions due to irrelevant training methods that schools are hard put to adopt
• are not self-sustaining financially speaking or in the evolution of professional ideas - they are dependent particularly on international donors for funds.
• contribute to the problem of teacher absenteeism in schools when teachers attend TRC activities

However, the functions of TRCs can be discharged from many types of centre, not just one, for example, the school classroom, mobile classrooms and so on. Is there perhaps a new role for teacher resource centres? Should they instead provide learning resources for children who can then get on with learning even when their teacher is absent? For such changes to be effective, community commitment and involvement is crucial. Implications for policy include suggestions that:

• TRCs need to be close to the teachers and provide a changing menu of resources for teachers to meet their changing needs.
• resources be made available to follow up in the classroom activities that take place in the resource centre
• teachers need support for their day-to-day teaching and help with making the best of limited resources
• sustainability of resource centre activities could be enhanced by encouraging teachers to run meetings and workshops and by exploring self-funding options
• resource centres need greater autonomy to respond to new needs and changing demands
• TRCs consider merging with their host school to become a ‘model school' with combined funding, resources, and activities

Source(s):
‘The Effectiveness of Teacher Resource Centre Strategy’, Department for International Development Education Research Series #34, by Genevieve Fairhurst, William Gibbs, Pankaj Jain, David Khatete, Gary Knamiller, Geoff Welford and Patrick Wiegand edited by Gary Knamiller (1999)

Funded by: Department for International Development, Education Division (1997 – 1998)

id21 Research Highlight: 24 October 2000

Further Information:
Geoff Welford
International Education Office
School of Education
University of Leeds
Leeds LS2 9JT
UK

Tel: +44 (0)113 233 4571/4579
Fax: +44 (0)113 233 4541
Contact the contributor: a.g.welford@education.leeds.ac.uk

University of Leeds

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